Description: The Fregat, Top Plate and Top Steer NATO codename, is a family of 3D, 360-degree/full-coverage ship-based radar systems developed for the Soviet Union Navy and designed to provide surveillance and detection of surface and airborne targets and to deliver target designation data to weapon systems. The Fregat radar system can operate effectively in intense jamming and countermeasures environments. Moreover, the radar system also provides identification friend or foe (IFF). The Fregat radar system has been provided to aircraft carrier, amphibious assault, frigates, cruisers, destroyers and special purpose class ships commissioned by the Russian Navy such as Kuznetsov, Neustrashimy, Krivak III, Kirov, Slava, Udaloy and Sovremenny.

The Fregat family of radar systems features automatic target tracking and built-in self-diagnosis system. The radar system is made of line replaceable units that can be removed with ease in the event of a malfunction. The radars developed under Fregat family are tailored for a variety of ships depending on their displacement and purpose. The main differences among them are: air surveillance range, number of channels and frequency bands, and weight. Typically, Fregat radars operate in the E-band excepting the lightest Fregat MAE-4k which operates in the H-band. All variants can detect a surface ship at the line-of-sight while the maximum detection range for an airborne target with the radar cross section of a non-stealth fighter aircraft varies from 58 to 230 kilometers.

The Fregat MAE-1 radar system is intended for small displacement ships. It is an E-band single channel radar with a maximum instrumented range of 300 kilometers and a maximum vertical detection range of 30 km. Fregat MAE-1 can detect a fighter aircraft at a maximum range of 125 km or a missile at a maximum range of 27 km. The radar's equipment and the antenna station weigh approximately 4.1-t (3.1-t and 1-t respectively).